Encouraged by our initial success with Ochiba Kareki, Abaddon and I quickly set about creating our next video.
That said, because it’s a weekday, I have to attend school. I briefly consider taking the day off, but since Futarishizuka is kindly providing a driver for me, I can’t bring myself to play hooky. I’m also pretty sure my neighbor wouldn’t approve.
I rein myself in, deciding to use my spare time between classes to think of a script. Eventually classes end, and I head home, holding in my impatience.
The older gentleman who always drives me asks if something good happened. I didn’t think I was acting any differently from usual, but maybe my excitement showed on my face.
Once we’re home, I decide that changing out of my uniform will take too long and head straight to the guest room instead. I sit down at the desk and turn on the laptop. Once it boots up, I see that I’ve received a message.
“What’s this? You’ve got mail! Wonder who it’s from.” It seems the sharp-eyed demon has noticed, too.
“Probably just spam or something.”
The pop-up disappears quickly, but urged on by Abaddon, I click the notification icon. It looks like the email is for the address I used to open up my account on the video submission website. I’ve made it public on my channel so third parties can contact me.
At the very top of the notification list is a notice that I received an email. And the sender is…
“Otherworld Productions Inc.?”
“Someone you know?”
“No, of course not.”
The topic reads, We’re sending you this email after seeing a video of Ochiba Kareki. Could this be a prank orchestrated by my haters? Or maybe it’s just spam.
I click on it, and my in-box comes up and displays the contents of the message.
Dear Ochiba Kareki,
My name is Kuga, and I’m from Otherworld Productions Inc. Please forgive the unprompted email.
I’m writing to you after watching videos for Hanano and Kareki. We do business in the domain of virtual reality entertainment, and we are currently planning to further expand our operations. We were extremely impressed by your video from yesterday.
While I know this may seem like a sudden proposal, would you perhaps be able to meet with us in person? We can be flexible with the time and place of the meeting, as needed.
I hope you will consider this request. Thank you for your time.
“I think I’ve heard of this,” says Abaddon. “It’s called being scouted, right?”
“That’s not exactly what it said, though.”
“Isn’t your country all about being indirect? I think that’s just the way people do things here.”
I bring up a search engine and look up Otherworld Productions Inc. They’re not hard to find. They’re an organization that runs a major VTuber group. I even referenced their videos when I was making ours, though I only knew them by the nickname OtherPro.
“Well, it looks like they really are a big company.”
“If they’re not trying to scout you, why would they reach out?”
“When you put it like that, I really don’t know what to say.”
For a moment, I suspect it’s a scam email. But the sender’s address matches the company’s real domain. Then I look up the business plus the name “Kuga,” and that checks out as well.
“All right,” I say. “Let’s assume for now that they are trying to scout me.”
The next question is whether I should meet with this Kuga person.
It’s not likely to help me much with the contest. After all, that will be over in only two weeks, and it might take even longer to come to an agreement with the company.
Still, it seems like a solid choice, considering the possibility for mid- to long-term income. Whether I end up accepting or declining, this is an excellent chance to hear from people who have succeeded in the field. I figure it’s worth it to respond.
“I think we should accept the request for a meeting,” I tell Abaddon.
“I can’t believe my shy partner is being so brave!”
“If we stand to benefit, then I don’t mind taking a step out of my comfort zone.”
There’s a problem, though—I’m a minor. A first-year in middle school isn’t all that different from an elementary school kid. I doubt they’ll take me seriously.
In addition, I won’t know what to do if they ask where the 3D models for Misaki Hanano and Ochiba Kareki came from. I wonder if they’d believe me if I said I made them myself. My motion-capture equipment is even better than the stuff professionals use.
Naturally, I can’t say anything that would imply the existence of mechanical life-forms. Maintaining that secret is an important part of my neighbor’s job, too. I need to do whatever it takes to keep it under wraps.
“Then you’ll have to study hard, eat plenty of food, and grow into a fit, healthy adult!” Abaddon quickly launches into banter; maybe he intuited my thoughts. But his words don’t seem very fitting for a demon.
“I’m your Disciple. If I were to take it easy and wait to grow up, Futarishizuka would abandon us.”
“Then are you going to turn them down?”
“I don’t think I have any other choice.”
“Maybe you can ask someone for help. What else is family for?”
He must be talking about the rest of our pretend family. Unfortunately, of its seven members, at least five look like children, and one is a bird. Regardless of their actual ages, the only one who could really pass for an adult is my neighbor. Essentially, Abaddon is telling me to talk to him.
“No, I can’t. I’d be bothering him.”
“But if you’re trying to do this monetization thing, don’t you need help from a guardian anyway?”
“……”
Abaddon really knows how to hit me where it hurts.
If I ever want to make money from uploading videos, then sooner or later, I’ll have to discuss it with my neighbor and Futarishizuka. And in that case, it makes sense to explain things now.
But my neighbor is pretty busy with his own videos. When I asked him yesterday how they were going, he looked at me with a pained expression. I’m hesitant to increase his burden on our account.
But then I reconsider. I can use this as an excuse to monopolize my neighbor’s time. It’ll drop him to last place in the contest, and with the company’s help, Abaddon and I will win. Then I’ll officially gain the right to make any request of him I want. Whether that all works out will depend on the company, but it’s certainly possible.
“Oh. You’re making that scheming face again.”
“Not at all. I was giving my partner’s opinion some serious thought.” It pains me to cause my neighbor trouble. But my desire for him is just as strong. And I’m still not sure if the company is really scouting me. “And I’ve decided you’re right. Let’s go talk to him.”
“Right now?”
“Yes. After school is pretend family time.”